Pearson New International Edition International pcl tp indd 1

FRONT OFFICE SEMANTICS
Full-time employee:
Staff member who works several days (or more) each week for up to 40 hours each
week.
Part-time employee:
Staff member who works fewer than 40 hours weekly. Some part-time employees
may work on-call and work on an infrequent basis as needed.
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Employee requests. FOMs should have a system in place that allows employees
to request time away from their jobs for personal reasons such as vacations,
special family occasions, or religious holidays. Requests that were made on a
timely basis and are in accord with the requirements of hotel policies should be
met. Doing so helps to reinforce the employer-of-choice concept that is so
important to employee morale and retention. Failure to do so (except on an
infrequent or emergency basis) will have negative effects on the department
and property in both the short term and long term.
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Legal factors. Workplace laws must be considered as employees are sched-
uled. For example, there are restraints related to the work shifts and work
activities of minors. The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA)
entitles covered employees to take up to three months of unpaid leave for
specified reasons. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) addresses wage
rates that must be paid to certain staff members who work more than 40
hours in a workweek.
Hotel policies applicable to the entire property should be followed as employee
schedules are completed and circulated. Perhaps, for example, schedules indicate
work shifts on a Sunday through Saturday basis and are announced one or two weeks
ahead of the first date in the schedule. Perhaps schedules are posted on the employee
bulletin board in the employee locker room or dining room. Perhaps they are pro-
vided with payroll checks. More large properties are now using a computerized